Fire fighting suits



G. JOHNSTON 2,803,826

FIRE FIGHTING SUITS Aug. 27, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 00L 24, 1955 INVENTOR Green/10M Jo/msiozz BY 'L ATTORNEYS Aug. 27, 1957 G. JOHNSTON 2,803,826

FIRE FIGHTING SUITS Filed 001;. 24, -l955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 I l INVENTOR Gram/20W fo/msZZn l': BY g W ATTORNEYS Aug. 27, 1957 G. JOHNSTON FIRE FIGHTING SUITS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 24, 1955 INVENTOR fireeiz/zou JO/Zn 5261? BY 9K ATTORNEYS Aug. 27, 1957 G. JOHNSTON Fm: FIGHTING suns 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 24, 1955 13 Ja 119a 48 60 54 i7 3 INVENTOR Greenfiavf wfiJfimrZZ'n ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 2,803,826 Patented Aug. 27, 1957 FIRE FIGHTING sorrs Greenhow Johnston, Richmond, Va., assignor to Temple Safety on Sea Mfg. Co. Inc., Richmond, Va., a corporation of Virginia Application October 24, 1955,5erial No. 542,390

19Claims. (Cl. 2-81) This application is a continuationrin-part of my copending application Serial No. 313,769, filed October 8, 1952, now abandoned, which, in turn, is a continuationin-part of my application Serial No. 82,795 filed March 22, 1949, now Patent 2,702,386.

This invention relates to a fire fighting suit useful in the fighting of fires wherein it is necessary to enter the zone of burning in order to rescue persons therein or to extinguish the fire at its point of inception.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple, practical and efficient fire fighting suit constructed in one piece of fire-resistant fabric, and means associated therewith for enveloping the wearer in an envelope of vaporous mist to prevent the heat of the fire from entering the suit and also scorching of the suit.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spraying device having a two-fold purpose of producing a large canopy of streams of water about the suit and further. to produce a vaporous mist which will fall downwardly around the suit and surround the same.

Another object of the invention is to have means so associated with the suit and connected to the ordinary fire hose so that the person wearing the suit may carry the hose into the zone of fire and, at the same time, have the streams of water and vaporous mist surrounding the suit thus obviating the necessity of having someone playing a stream of water on the suit while advancing into the fire zone.

Another object of the invention is to equip the suit with a chemical container adapted to hold a sufficient quantity of fire extinguishing fluid under pressure which will become mixed with the streams of water and vaporous mist.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangements of parts hereinafter more fully described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the hereto appended claims, it being understood that various changes of form, proportions and construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the fire fighting suit showing the streams of water and vaporous mist surrounding the suit;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the disclosure of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 1 and showing the means for producing the vaporous mist;

Fig. 4 is a Cross section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an exploded view of the means for producing the vaporous mist and the associated parts;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the water wheel and vaporous mist producing means;

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the water wheel and vaporous mist producing means;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the water distributing means;

Fig. 10 is a cross section taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9 of the water distributing means;

Fig. 11 is an attachment to the nozzle of an ordinary fire hose;

Fig. 12 is a bottom plan View of a modification of the water wheel;

Fig. '13 is a cross section on the line lit-13 of Fig. 12 of the modified water wheel;

Fig. 14 is a sectional view on the line 1414 of Fig. 13 showing a rib of the water wheel in the modified form;

Fig. 15 is a view partly in section .of a modified form of the water distributing means; and

Fig. 16 is a detail view of the cleaner mounted within the nozzles of the water distributing means of Fig. 15.

The fire fighting suit 1 consists of a body portion 2, arms 3, legs 4 and hood 5. The body portion has a flap 6 closed by the fastening means 7, such as a zipper, for completely enclosing the occupant within the suit. Straps 8 pass around the body portion, across the front and back and under the crotch 9 to adjust the suit to the body of the wearer and further aid in holding the suit to the body. The hood is provided with an opening 10 in which is placed a glass 11 so as to allow the occupant to see the conditions surrounding him.

Within the hood there is disposed a rigid collar 12 having ribs 13 upstanding from and connected to the collar by rivets or the like 14. There are six ribs 13 used in the framework, three on each side of the center line between the front and back of the hood, the ribs being of substantially U-shape with the base of each U having an opening 15 therein in approximately the center thereof through which a bolt 16 extends. The ribs pro- .tect the head of the wearer against blows from any objects which may be received on the hood 5 so as to prevent injury to the wearer.

Depending from the collar at the front portion thereof is a brace member 17 which extends downwardly and inwardly toward the chest of the wearer. The brace 17 is pivoted to the collar 12 by means of a U-shaped wire member 18, the legs 19 of which are received within .and held by the brace 17. The legs 19 pass through in the lower ends thereof through which a belt 25 is passed around the chest of the wearer and under the arm pits and is fastened by a buckle 26 so as to hold the collar in a predetermined position about the neck of the wearer and thereby support the collar, ribs and hood all about the head of the wearer.

The hood 5 has a crown 27 integral therewith in the center of which there is provided a hole or opening 28 through which the bolt 16 extends to thu fasten the hood to the framework consisting of the collar 12 and the ribs 13. The bolt 16 extends a considerable extent above the crown 27 and supports the water wheel and other adjuncts thereto which will be described later.

Covering the crown 27 and spaced above the same is a protective cap 29 having an opening 30 therein which receives the bolt 16. This protective cap 29 is substantially straight for a greater portion of its circular extent and is provided with a downwardly extending flange 31 which extends down below the crown 27 and over the upper part of the hood 5 and is spaced therefrom to provide access to the crown for a purpose which will be later described.

Extending directly upwardly from the crown and attached thereto is a circular wire screen 32, the upper portion of which engages the underside of the protective cap 29 and by means of which screen the cap is held in the spaced relationship relative to the crown and upper portion of the hood. The lower end of the screen 32 is wrapped around a rib 33 which in turn is fastened to the crown 27 by sewing with thread or staples 34. The center portion of the protective cap 29 is provided with a reinforcement 35. Mounted above the protective cap 29 is a water distributing cup 36 having an opening 37 in the base thereof through which passes the bolt 16. The cup 36 is held on the bolt by means of a washer 38 and a nut 39 engaging the threads 40 on the bolt 16. The upper end of the cup 36 is open and is provided with a taper 41 on the outside wall at the top. The upper end of the cup 36 is closed by a distributing manifold 42 with a brass bearing washer 43 interposed between the upper end of the cup and the manifold inasmuch as the manifold 42 is caused to rotate by means which will be hereinafter explained.

The purpose of tapering the upper portion of the cup 36 as at 41 is to provide a further bearing surface which is engaged by the complementary bevel 44 in the lower portion of the manifold 42. The manifold 42 is provided with an elongated central boss 45 which surrounds the bolt 16 which at this point becomes an axle for the rotation of the manifold and boss about the bolt 16. The manifold 42 is provided with a plurality of depressions 46 surrounding the base of the boss 45. Leading from each depression 46 is an opening 47 into which is received one end of a small pipe or tubing 48. The end of the tubing 48, which is inserted in the opening 47, has an external size substantially the same as the internal diameter of the opening 47 and is further turned over on the inner end adjacent the depressions 46 to firmly seat the tubing 48 in the manifold 42. The manifold 42 has mounted thereon a dish-shaped cap-like member 49 which becomes, as will be later explained, a water wheel. The cap-like member has a lining of wire screen mesh 50 which is affixed to the underside of the cap-like member 49 by means of the rivets 51 centrally of the cap-like member and a ring 52 adjacent the outer edge which is riveted by rivets 53 or by any other well-known means.

A series of rivets 54 adjacent the center of the caplike member 49 are used to fasten the manifold 42 to the cap-like member 49 with two of the rivets also passing through the openings 55 in the brass bearing washer 43. It is noted in Fig. 8 that two of the rivets 54 are shown within the center circle while the other two rivets would not be shown inasmuch as they are covered by the brass bearing washer 43. The wire screen 3 extends outwardly beyond the rim of the cap-like member 45 and downwardly therefrom as shown at 56.

The tubes 48 extend for the most part of their lengths adjacent the screen lining 56 to a point near the edge of the cap-like member 4? and thence through openings 57 provided in the outer portion of the cap-like member 49 or adjacent the rim thereof. The tubes 48 are then bent substantially at right angles as at SS and terminate in nozzles 59 and 60. It is to be noted that the nozzles 59 and 66 are flattened so as to provide a resistance to the water passing through the tubes 48 and the nozzles 59 and 643 so as to give a greater rotative force upon the cap-like member 4%. It is further to be noted that the nozzles 59 are flattened in the plane which presents a wider end to the two views, Figs. 7 and 8, while the nozzles 60 are turned 90 from the nozzles 59 so as to present a rather narrow appearance as viewed in Figs. 7 and 8.

The cup 36 is provided about its periphery with a series of openings 61 through which streams of water 62 pass, which streams will impinge upon the screen 50 and will be broken up into a vaporous mist 63 by virtue of the high speed of rotation of the cap-like member 49, otherwise termed a water wheel, and the screen 50. It is further to be noted in the cross section of Fig. 10 that the series of openings 61 shown therein are so formed in the cup 36 that each opening i on a different angle from its adjacent opening. The purpose of this is to present the streams 62 against the screen 50 at a different angular point of contact than its adjacent stream. Thus, it will be seen that each stream 62 of water emitting from the openings 61 will be at the different angle than each adjacent stream and, in fact, at a different angle than all of the streams so as to have provided by the screen 50, when it is caused to be rotated by the water wheel 49, an enlarged area of contact to thereby produce a great amount of vaporous mist which will surround the entire suit as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This mist will extend from the underside of the water wheel 49 downwardly all around the body, arms, and legs down to the ground level. This vaporous mist will aid in protecting the wearer of the suit from the heat of the fire and will also further protect the suit itself against the scorching effect of the fire although it is to be understood, of course, that the material of which the suit is made is fire-proof but is not scorch-proof.

Air for the wearer to breathe will enter the suit through an opening 64 in the crown 27. Mounted in the opening 64 is one end of an elongated flexible tube 65 hanging downwardly from the crown to a point adjacent the chest of the wearer. Air entering the suit will pick up some of the vaporous mist and will be washed and cooled thereby to further provide a cooling effect upon the wearer of the suit, which coolness is felt inside the suit, to further protect against the heat of the fire. The lower end of the flexible tube 65 may be closed by a valve 66 which is held in closed position by a latch 66a when oxygen is being used which will have to be used when those type of fires are being fought that require a chemical for the purpose of extinguishing the fire.

Mounted on the front of the suit about the chest portion is a tank of oxygen 67, the feed of which is controlled on the outside by a valve 68 and having a pipelike tube 69 connected thereto extending through an opening 70 in the suit to a point of outlet 71 maintained slightly under the collar 12 which is controlled on the inside by a second valve 72 and which valve may be controlled by the wearer of the suit at any time he wishes.

The crown 27 is also provided with an opening 73 in the rear part thereof diametrically opposite the opening 64 which is used for the purpose of exhausting bad air from the suit.

The cup 36 has connected thereto and extending outwardly therefrom a short section of pipe 74 which opens into the cup 36 at the point of the depression 75. Attached to the pipe 74 by any suitable coupling means is one end of a hose 76 and which is further held against dislodgment from the pipe 74 by means of a strap-like clamping member 77 which surrounds the coupling and hose and also the cup 36. The other end of the hose 76 is provided with the usual type of hose coupling 78. The hose extends down the back of the suit as shown in Fig. 2 with the coupling end being attached to one of the body straps '8 by strapping the same thereto by a strap 79. As shown in Fig. 11, there is the usual nozzle 84) of an ordinary type of fire hose which has extending into the open end thereof a short section of tubing 81 into which a part of the stream of water emitting from the nozzle will pass. The tubing 81 is curved backwardly so that it extends rearwardly at an acute angle to the nozzle and is clamped thereto by the clamp 82 on the hose and the clamp 83 on the nozzle, the two clamp being connected together by a bolt and wing nut construction 84 and being also adjustable so that the angle may be varied.

Mounted in the tubing 81 is a valve 85 by means of which the wearer of the suit may control the supply of water. The other end of the tubing 81 has connected thereto a section of hose 86 by the clamp 87. The other end of the hose 86 is adapted to be coupled to the hose 76 by the coupliing 78. Thus it will be seen that the wearer of the suit may carry a fire hose along with him when entering the burning zone of the fire for the purpose of extenguishing the fire and, at the same time, a portion of the water in the hose is caused to enter the cup 36 through the tubing and hose connections just described so that a portion of that water will pass through the openings 61, will be impinged upon the screen 50 to produce the vaporous mist surrounding the wearer, and other portions of the water will pass through the tubes 48, will be emitted from the nozzles 59 and 65 to cause rotation of the water wheel 49, and will produce streams 88 which will further surround the wearer of the suit when dropping to the ground thus providing a curtain of water beyond the zone of the vaporous mist surrounding the suit and wearer. This water will also be used efiectively in extinguishing the fire.

It is to be noted at this time that the bolt 16 is bent at a slight angle to the vertical so as to allow the water wheel to have a slight wobble in its rotation which produces an action similar to a flywheel and also gives a greater speed of rotation to the water wheel from the force of the water emitting from the nozzles 59 and 60. Further, it will be remembered that the nozzles 59 and 60 are described as being of narrow formation and at right angles to each other. This narrow formation and at right angles to each other, further gives a greater speed to the turning of the water wheel 49 which is caused by the water emitting from the nozzles 59 and 60.

The water wheel 49 is held on the bolt or axle 16 by having placed directly above the water wheel a washer 89 over which is placed a nut 90 threaded upon the threads 91 on the upper part of the bolt. Further, there is provided a locking means for locking the water wheel 49 upon the bolt or axle by using a ring-like member 92 having a right-angular base portion 93 received on the bolt and a castellated nut 94 threaded upon the bolt 16. A cotter key 95 passes through an opening 96 in the body of the ring member 92 and through the cut part 97 of the castellated nut. The ring-like member 92 is further used to provide a means by which the suit may be hung from a support to allow drying thereof and further to allow easy access to the suit when in case of emergency.

Provided on the front of the suit adjacent the oxygen tank 67 is a second tank 98 which contains a chemical useful in extinguishing certain types of fire which water will not extinguish. The tank 98 has a valve 99 thereon which will control the flow of the chemical into the pipelike tube 100. This pipe-like tube extends upwardly around the hood of the suit with its end placed in one of the openings in the cup 36 so that the chemical may enter into the vaporous mist produced by the water to further protect the wearer of the suit when fighting that type of fire which requires chemical extinguishing means.

In the modified form of the invention disclosed in Figs. 12, 13 and 14, the modification relates primarily to the water wheel and the mist producing means. The upper section or" the hood a with the ribs 13a and the bolt 16a is shown in Fig. 13. Above the hood is a cup 114) which is similar in construction to the cup 36 but has small tubes 111 projecting from the cup 110 with the ends of each tube bent at right angles as at 112 and with the ends producing nozzles 113 through which the Water within the cup 110 is emitted. The underside of the water wheel 114 is provided with a series of radially extending ribs 115, the structure of which is shown in Fig. 14. These ribs 115 receive the force of the water being emitted from the nozzles 113 which causes rotation of the water wheel 114 in the direction of the arrows 116 of Fig. 12 and also will aid in breaking up the water after impingement to produce the vaporous mist. Extending through each of the ribs is a pipe-like opening 117 which opens downwardly at the edge 118 of the water wheel 114 to produce a stream of water surrounding the suit beyond the zone of the vaporous mist. The water enters the cup from the usual hose 119 which has a valve 120 therein controlling the flow. The hose 119 may be connected to the hose section 86 of Fig. 11. Another connection 121 shown in Fig. 12 is adapted to convey a chemical to the cup 110 from the pipe 100 shown in Fig. 1. The cup 111) is held to the hood 5a and the bolt 16a by means of the nut 122 threaded upon the threads 123. The upper portion of the water wheel 114 has a cone-like depression 124 in the upper central portion which receives a cone-shaped bearing member 125 having internal threads threaded upon the threads 126 on the bolt 16a and held in position by the nut 127 on the threads 126.

Sometimes when using my fire fighting suit, it is neces sary to use water from sources such as wells, creeks and rivers which, as a general rule, have trash therein, and such trash will clog up the opening 61 in the cup 36. Therefore, as a modified type of water distributing means, I have shown in Fig. 15 a cup which is similar to the cup 36 shown in Figs. 9 and 10. This cup is not of the same solid construction, however, as the cup 36 but is provided with a bottom 237 having a flange 238 and a reduced diameter portion 239. The reduced diameter portion has screw thread-s 240 thereon which engage the screw threads 242 on the inside of the cup 236.

A shoulder 241 is provided between the flange 238 and the reduced diameter portion 239 which seals the bottom of the cup when the same is resting on the flange 238. The entire cup is mounted upon a bolt 216 similar to the bolt 16 shown in Fig. 3 with the cup and bolt being pinned together by the pin 243 passing through an opening 244 in a boss 245 upstanding from the reduced diameter portion 239 and an opening 246 .in the bolt 216.

The upper portion of the cup 236 is beveled at 247 in the same manner as the cup 36 is beveled at 41 to fit into the manifold 42 which is a part of the water wheel 49. Water enters the cup 236 through the opening 248 and a portion of the water passes through the manifold 42 to the pipes 48 on the water wheel 49 causing the wheel to turn as previously described.

The cup 236 is provided with outwardly extending nozzles 249 which are substituted for the openings 61 in the cup 36. The nozzles 249 extend from within the cup 236 as shown at 250 and are placed at an angle to the perpendicular wall of the cup 236 with. the inner ends 250 of the nozzles adjacent the water inlet 248. The water passing through the nozzles 249 is forced against the screen 50 to be broken up into a fine mist or spray in the same manner as the water passes through the openings 61 of the cup 36 as also previously described.

Mounted in the nozzles 249 is a cleaner 251 shown in detail in Fig. 16. The cleaner 251 is formed of light metal and is twisted on its longitudinal axis to provide a formation like a screw as shown at 252 so that as the cleaner turns from the force of the water passing through the nozzle 249, it will force any dirt or debris therein to be dislodged and forced out of the end of the nozzles. The inner end of the cleaner 251 has impeller blades 253 thereon which cause the cleaner 251 to turn within the .nozzle when engaged by the water passing into the cup 236 and out of the nozzles 249. The lower or inner end of each nozzle 25th is provided with a slightly raised portion 254 which causes the cleaner to move longi tudinally within the bore of each nozzle .249 to further enhance the cleaning action. The impeller blades 253 bear against the inner end of each nozzle and thus prevent the cleaner from being forced out of each nozzle 249 and the impeller blades also engage in their turning movement the raised portion or cam 254 to cause the slight longitudinal movement of the cleaner when rotating.

The outer end of the cleaner 251 or that portion outside of that nozzle 24.9 is turned over at substantially right angles to the axis of the cleaner as shown at 255 to hold the cleaner within the bore of each nozzle 249 when the suit is not in use. Thus it will be seen that when using my suit with water from a source in the open rather than filtered water such as found in fire hydrants or the like, any debris sucked up with the water by the pumping action from any source will not clog up the holes in the distributing cup but such debris will be forced out of the openings by the action of the cleaner 251 thus giving the wearer of the suit the full protection needed in fighting the fire.

Thus, it will be seen that a person wearing the fire fighting suit described above can with safety enter the zone of burning of a fire without injury to himself and can rescue with ease and facility any persons caught within the burning zone. This suit is particularly useful in rescuing pilots and passengers from a plane which has crashed and is burning. It is also useful in buildings or the like. Furthermore, it is heretofore known that when a person enters a burning zone, it has been the customary practice of other persons to stand outside of the burning zone and direct streams of water upon the person to protect him from the flames and heat of the fire. With this suit a person may enter the burning zone carrying a hose or the like for the purpose of extinguishing the fire and at the same time be surrounded with an outer curtain of water and an inner curtain of vaporous mist thus relieving the other persons who are fighting the fire from the duty of throwing streams of water on the person entering the burning zone and allowing them to use their streams of water to a better advantage of extinguishing the flames.

The usual fire hose emits water from the nozzle 84 at several hundred pounds of pressure and with a portion of that water at this pressure entering the cup 36 through the hose and pipe connections shown and described, it will be distributed from the cup 36 and the manifold 42 at the same pressure or slightly below to the nozzles and 6t on the water wheel 49 so that with the water wheel so set on the axle or bolt 16 as to wobble thus producing the flywheel eflect and, by virtue of the nozzles 59 and 60 being flattened and at right angles to each other, the water wheel is caused to rotate at an extremely high speed which will cause the streams 88 of water emitted from the nozzles 59 and 6% to extend quite far out and produce a curtain of water around the wearer of the suit. The other streams of water which are passing through the openings 61 in the cup 36 and impinge at diflerent points upon the screen 50 will be broken up due to the force of impingement from the pressure behind the Water and the high speed rotation of the water wheel and its screen 50, to a very fine vaporous mist which will fall downwardly and surround the entire suit to provide a second curtain of moisture to further protect the wearer of the suit. Due to the high speed rotation of the water wheel 49, it must be held on the bolt or axle 16 by a very secure means; therefore the reason for the locking disc 3, the ring member 92 with its opening 96, the castellated nut 94 and the cotter key 95.

Further, the hood 5 of the suit has within it the collar 12 and the ribs 13 through which the bolt 16 passes to relieve the strain on the suit of the high speed rotation and cause some of the strain to be placed upon the wearer by means of a belt and the braces 17 and 23 connected to the collar 12.

I claim:

1. A fire fighting suit having a hood, means within the hood and connected thereto for supporting the hood in extended shape, a fluid distributing means provided at the top of the hood and connected thereto, the distributing means having passageways communicating therewith at one end and having discharge means at their other ends, rotating means carried by the distributing means,

8 the discharge means being so set as to cause rotation of the rotating means, an impingement means carried by the rotating means, the fluid distributing means being provided with a plurality of outlets, discharging against the impingement means, a supply means connected to the fluid distributing means at one end and to a source of fluid supply under pressure at the other end, whereby the fluid under pressure is fed to the distributing means and through the discharge means to cause rotation of the rotating means and the impingement means thus providing a curtain of moisture from the discharge means and from the impingement means.

2. A fire fighting suit as set forth in claim 1 in which each of the outlets has means therein to maintain the outlets clean.

3. A fire fighting suit is described in claim 1 in which the fluid distributing means comprises a cup-like member having the passageways at the upper portion thereof and the outlets consisting of a plurality of openings about the periphery thereof leading fluid to the impingement means.

4. A fire fighting suit as set forth in claim 3 in which each outlet has rotating means therein driven by the fluid passing through the outlets to maintain the outlets clean.

5. A fire fighting suit as described in claim 3 in which the peripheral openings in the cup are cut at a diflerent angle from each other so as to emit the streams of fluid against the impingement means at different angles.

6. A fire fighting suit as described in claim 1 in which the rotating means comprises a dish-shaped Water wheel having the passageways connected thereto with the discharge means at the outer periphery of the wheel set at an angle to the passageways.

7. A fire fighting suit as described in claim 6 in which the discharge means comprises nozzles at the end of the passageways set at an angle to the passageways and positioned at the periphery of the wheel with each nozzle being flattened to produce a greater restrictive eflect upon the fluid passing therethrough to thus cause a higher. force of rotation by the wheel.

8. A fire fighting suit as described in claim 7 in which the flattened portions of the nozzles are set at an angle to the next adjacent nozzle to produce a greater force and efiect a higher speed of rotation of the wheel.

9. A fire fighting suit as described in claim 3 in which the impingement means comprises a wire screening aflixed to the underside of the rotating means and which receives the discharge from the outlets of the distributing means to break up the fluid into a fine mist.

10. A fire fighting suit as described in claim 1 in which the supporting means comprises a collar positioned within the suit and having a plurality of ribs connected at one end to the collar and converging at the upper portion of the hood and being connected thereto by a connecting means, the connecting means also supporting the fluid distributing means and rotating means, and means associated with the connecting means for retaining the fluid distributing means and rotating means on the connecting means.

11. A fire fighting suit as described in claim 10 in which the connecting means comprises a bolt passing through the ribs, hood, fluid distributing means and rotating means and receiving at its outer end a nut and locking means for retaining all of the aforementioned means in assembled relation.

12. A fire fighting suit comprising a body and a hood, supporting means within the hood and connected to the upper portion thereof, a fluid distributing cup located above the hood and connected thereto, a rotating means mounted upon the upper portion of the cup, impingement means carried by the rotating means, the cup having passageways communicating at their inner ends with the cup and having discharge means at their outer ends, the passageways being carried by the rotating means, the

cup having a plurality of outlets extending upwardly and outwardly within the periphery of the distributing cup, each outlet being positioned at a different angle to the adjacent outlet, a source of supply of fluid under pressure connected to the base of the distributing cup whereby fluid under pressure is fed to the distributing cup and through the discharge means to cause rotation of the rotating means and through the peripheral outlets against the impingement means to produce a curtain of moisture about the suit.

13. A fire fighting suit as set forth in claim 12 in which each of the outlets has a rotating means therein driven by the force of the fluid passing through the outlets to main tain the outlets clean.

14. A fire fighting suit as set forth in claim 13 wherein the last-mentioned rotating means comprises a screw bladed member within each outlet, impeller blades on one end of the member driven by the fluid passing through the outlets to force any dirt and debris out of the outlets.

15. A fire fighting suit as set forth in claim 13 in which the outlets have inner ends within the distributing cup, a cam surface on each inner end, impeller means on each of the last-mentioned rotating means, the impeller means engaging the cam surfaces to cause longitudinal movement of the said last-mentioned rotating means.

16. A fire fighting suit having a hood, the hood having at least two openings in the upper part thereof, fluid distributing means mounted on top of the hood, a rotating means mounted on the fluid distributing means, impingement means carried by the rotating means, the distributing means having fluid passageways communicating with the distributing means at one end and having discharge nozzles at the other end at right angles to the passageways, connecting means mounting the distributing means and rotating means to the hood, and means for holding the rotating means on the connecting means, a source of fluid under pressure connected to the distributing means, the distributing means having a plurality of openings in the periphery thereof opening upward and outward to direct streams against the impingement means, the fluid under pressure passing through the openings against the impingement means and through the nozzles to cause rotation of the rotating means, a breather tube mounted in one of the openings in the upper part of the hood and extending downwardly into the inside of the suit to deliver air to the inside of the suit, and another opening in the top of the hood being a discharge for air from the inside of the suit.

17. A fire fighting suit having a body, a hood integral therewith, a rigid collar within the suit at the juncture of the body and the hood, rigid supporting means attached at one end to the collar and converging to a common point at the upper part of the hood and connected thereto by a bolt passing through the ribs and hood, a fluid distributing cup mounted on the bolt above the hood, the cup being open at the upper end thereof, a rotating dish-shaped water wheel mounted above the cup and rotating thereon and held in position on the bolt, fastening means engaging the bolt to hold the water wheel in position, the cup having passageways communicating at their inner ends with the upper end of the cup and having discharge nozzles at their outer ends, the wheel having the passageways associated therewith, the cup having a plurality of openings in the periphery thereof opening upwardly and outwardly, each opening being at a different angle from the adjacent opening, a screen mounted on the under side of the water wheel above the distributing cup and its openings, a source of fluid under pressure connected to the cup at the base thereof, the fluid within the cup passing through the passageways and being discharged from the nozzles causing rotation of the water wheel and screen and distributing the fluid in a circle about the suit, the fluid from the openings impinging against the screen at different points thereon due to the angularity of the openings thus producing a layer of moisture forming a protective curtain imrnediately about the suit.

18. A fire fighting suit having a hood, means within the hood and connected thereto for supporting the hood in extended shape, a fluid distributing means provided at the top of the hood and connected thereto, the distributing means having passageways communicating therewith at one end and having discharge means at their other ends, rotating means carried by the distributing means, the discharge means being so set as to cause rotation of the rotating means, an impingement means carried by the rotating means, the fluid distributing means being provided with a plurality of outlets discharging against the impingement means, each of the outlets having an inner end, each inner end having a cam surface thereon, a rotating means within each outlet, an impeller means on the rotating means, the impeller means engaging the cam surfaces to cause longitudinal movement of the rotating means within the outlets, a supply means connected to the fluid distributing means at one end and to a source of fluid supply under pressure at the other end, whereby the fluid under pressure is fed to the distributing means and through the discharge means to cause rotation of the rotating means and the impingement means thus providing a curtain of moisture from the discharge means and from the impingement means.

19. A fire fighting suit as set forth in claim 18 wherein the rotating means in each outlet comprises a screw bladed member within each outlet, the member having impeller blades at one end thereof engaging the inner end of each outlet, the force and pressure of the fluid within the distributing means and as it passes through each outlet causing the rotating means to rotate within each outlet and thereby maintain each outlet clean of any dirt and debris.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 213,625 Clime Mar. 25, 1879 811,021 Wood Jan. 30, 1906 1,466,726 Meeks Sept. 4, 1923 1,853,460 Rzeminiecki Apr. 12, 1932 1,882,241 Curran Oct. 11, 1932 1,999,639 Rosenberger Apr. 30, 1935 2,376,007 Quigley May 15, 1945 2,580,385 Hochmuth Jan. 1, 1952 

